Scouler’s corydalis (Corydalis scouleri) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 12
Existing Protection or Other Status Designations
Scouler’s corydalis is not covered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Endangered Species Act (USA) or the IUCN Red Data Book. Globally, Scouler’s corydalis has a rank of G4, defined as “frequent to common (greater than 100 occurrences); apparently secure but may have a restricted distribution; or there may be perceived future threats” (NatureServe 2006b).
This species is not tracked as a rare species outside of British Columbia. In Washington and Oregon, the only other jurisdictions in which it occurs, it is ranked SNR (NatureServe 2006b) indicating that the species has not yet been assessed.
Since the species is restricted to British Columbia in Canada, it has a national rank of N3N4. It was assessed by COSEWIC as threatened in 2001, and is on Schedule 1 of the federal Species at Risk Act. Provincially,Scouler’s corydalisis ranked by the British Columbia Conservation Data Centre as S3S4 and has recently been moved from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment red list to the blue list (J. Penny, pers. comm. 2005).
Scouler’s corydalis could be a candidate for protection in British Columbia under the provincial Wildlife Amendment Act (2004) as it is currently blue-listed by the provincial Conservation Data Centre and because of its national listing.
Two of the populations of C. scouleri in British Columbia are protected by the Provincial Park Act since they occur in Provincial Parks (Carmanah-Walbran and Nitinat River), and the Klanawa River Ecological Reserve (#138) is protected under the Ecological Reserves Act. The Provincial Park Act protects the species from the threat of forestry management activities. Under the Government Actions Regulation of the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) of British Columbia, management for selected species and plant communities can be established by designating Wildlife Habitat Areas. This species is also listed under the Identified Wildlife Management Strategy under FRPA, which allows WHAs to be utilized. Wildlife Habitat Areas have been designated for eight Scouler’s corydalis sites in the Nitinat and East Klanawa River drainages. Wildlife Habitat Areas are legal entities although stand maintenance can be permitted to retain a particular seral stage such as that required by Scouler’s corydalis.
In addition, both forestry firms operating in the different drainages have recorded all British Columbia Conservation Data Centre information in their GIS systems and consult this information during tree harvest planning (Bill Beese, pers. comm.; Bo Ferguson, pers. comm.).
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